An Efficient Surface Intersection Algorithm Based on Lower-Dimensional Formulation

Abstract

We present an efficient algorithm to compute the intersection of algebraic and NURBS surfaces. Our approach is based on combining the marching methods with the algebraic formulation. In particular, we propose a matrix representation for the intersection curve and compute it accurately using matrix computations. We present algorithms to compute a start point on each component of the intersection curve (both open and closed components), detect the presence of singularities, and find all the curve branches near the singularity. We also suggest methods to compute the step size during tracing to prevent component jumping. The algorithm runs an order of magnitude faster than previously published robust algorithms. The complexity of the algorithm is output sensitive.